Quique Sanchez Flores doesn’t want Watford to give Leeds United any second chances

Quique Sanchez Flores. PIC: PA

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores has told his side he wants to finish their FA Cup fifth-round tie against Leeds at the first attempt.

The Hornets welcome Leeds to Vicarage Road on Saturday looking to continue a memorable season which, aside from making progress in the cup, also sees them pushing hard for a finish in the top half of the Barclays Premier League.

Watford are currently ninth in the table but have a potentially key run of fixtures coming up which sees them play fellow promoted side Bournemouth before facing five successive matches against top-10 sides in Manchester United, Leicester, West Ham, Stoke and Arsenal.

Prior to those games Watford take on Leeds in the cup, and Flores is keen to complete the job at the first time of asking.

“We do not want a replay, we just want to win,” said the Spaniard.

Leeds are 16th in the Sky Bet Championship table and their only win in their last four games was last month’s 2-1 triumph over Bolton in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Watford will be favourites to go through to the quarter-finals, but Flores acknowledges the Whites will be no pushovers.

He said: “I saw Leeds play in the Champions League against Valencia and saw how important that team was but football is football, it is very difficult to know what will happen in the future. Now they are in the Championship but we respect the history of the team.

“For us, they have a good team, they play with power, they try to play football, they have three players in the middle who want to play well so we have to think about how we play this game.

“It will not be easy, they have really good players, they will want to win.”

Flores has done his homework on Leeds, but says his main focus now will be on what his own side are going to do.

He said: “We are in the task to correct our shape, our system and now we are focusing more on our team than the other team, but that is not just in the FA Cup.

“I always say that when we play against another team 80 per cent is for us and the other 20 per cent is for the other team.

“Mostly it is about what we can do and then I will try to reduce the attack of the other team.

“We have a mission for every single match - we want to win every single match.

“This match is a little bit different because it is the first time where I play rounds that are just one match, it is like a final.”

Watford will make late decisions on whether to include Miguel Britos and Jose Manuel Jurado but Costel Pantilimon, who has been Watford’s preferred goalkeeper so far in the competition, is expected to play.

Flores said of the Romanian: “He is ready. He is a very good goalkeeper, he has confidence and he needs to play.”